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Institute of
International Education
809 United Nations Plaza
7th Floor
New York, NY 10017
USA
Tel: +1 (212) 984 5367
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Initiating an International Recruitment Program at a Large Research University |
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By C. Eugene Allen
The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (UMTC), one of the largest campuses in the United States with almost 51,000 students, was facing a steep decline in international undergraduates. International freshmen decreased by almost 50 percent between fall 2001 and 2004. In 2005, international undergraduates represented only about 1.7 percent of the undergraduate student body—about half the average of other Big 10 institutions. Decreases in new international students and the low percentage of international undergraduates were attributed to 9/11, non-resident tuition increases of 30% over three years, growing global competition for international students, the loss of an ESL program, and lack of a recruiting program.
As a result, in 2005 UMTC set a goal that international students would make up 5 percent of its undergraduate student body in a decade and made a recurring budget commitment of $100,000 for an undergraduate recruitment program. (The re-establishment of an ESL program and a new lower tuition structure would come later.) Starting out with no previous history of international recruitment, no staff assigned to the project, and a small budget, the university brought together an ad hoc team from across the campus to draft a strategic plan and make a commitment to work together.
After three years, the university is seeing results in a variety of areas ranging from wider name recognition abroad to more students on campus. The following is an overview of these recruitment-related activities, the lessons learned, and the outcomes.
Recruitment Initiatives & Lessons Learned
The first centrally coordinated UMTC international recruitment effort was at the Beijing International Education Expo in August 2004. A delegation of 11 people, including the Senior Vice President, who is responsible for international programs, represented the University of Minnesota. The experiences at this first fair were educational and helped establish an agenda for future recruitment initiatives.
Following the Beijing Expo, the Associate Vice President for International Programs called together a UMTC Recruitment Committee, consisting of a dozen colleagues from Admissions, International Student & Scholar Services, ESL program, Office of International Programs, and the Graduate School. Most of the committee members have been involved in numerous recruitment visits to other countries and others have done embassy visits in Washington, D.C. Here are their recommendations based on lessons learned:
- Recruitment Committee—Establish a diverse working group interested in international student issues. Members must be willing to devote time to planning, communications, and in-country recruiting, and then give leadership to change in their units. The UMTC committee typically meets two to three times per semester to plan activities, identify needs and solutions, hear and respond to reports and feedback on recruitment trips, and share relevant news and developments.
- Consultations—Consult with people from other institutions who have experience in recruiting international students. Input from colleagues with mature recruitment efforts, such as SUNY-Buffalo and Purdue University, significantly helped the formation of UMTC’s recruitment program. In addition, it was helpful to participate in organized recruitment tours abroad, taking advantage of the advice from experienced professionals.
- Student Feedback—Gather information from small group discussions or targeted surveys of international students regarding their selection of your university and their experiences on campus. Examples of useful feedback at UMTC included: a) the critical importance of websites, b) the need for basic brochures translated into native languages for targeted areas, and c) the important role of international student communication networks, parents, and agents in student decision-making.
- Strategic Plan—Develop a comprehensive plan that outlines the major issues, targeted recruitment areas, budget, and staffing. The plan should include a goal for the proportion of international undergraduates in the student body and will be helpful not only in implementing initiatives but in justifying future budget requests. It is important to note that it typically takes two to three years before there are any noticeable enrollment increases—therefore, it is necessary to make repeated visits to the same place and not give up too soon.
- Senior Leadership & Budget—Involve one or more senior administrators in initial recruitment visits so they can see what takes place and understand the demanding nature of international student recruitment. Support from leadership can be helpful in establishing goals and recurring budgets for a comprehensive, long-term international recruitment program.
- Campus Services—Review the services for international students that are or should be provided on campus, such as orientation, health care and insurance, housing and food, ESL, visa services, and counseling. ESL was identified as important to the recruitment effort, which gave support to a decision to re-establish the ESL program. In addition, cooperation with other campus offices has increased awareness of international student needs and resulted in improved services.
Outcomes of Recruitment at UMTC
The number of international degree-seeking undergraduates in fall 2007 was 515 or a 19 percent increase from 2006, supported by a 105 percent increase in international freshmen. In the fall 2007 the size of the undergraduate student body was 28,703. Thus, our recruitment efforts are showing positive results after three years. We attribute these increases to the following:
- Collaborative efforts of Admissions, International Student & Scholar Services, International Programs, Graduate School, and ESL.
- Repeated recruitment visits to embassies and targeted sites abroad.
- Updated websites to make them more informative and user-friendly.
- Development of recruiting brochures and targeted translation.
- Improved processes and response times for inquiries and applications.
- Re-establishment of an ESL program.
- Work with selected Education USA advisers.
- Improved welcoming and orientation for new students.
- Scholarships for international undergraduates.
Special Tuition Initiatives
Last year the university offered a total of $500,000 in Global Excellence Scholarships at 6,000 or $12,000 each. The justification for offering scholarships was to: a) make UMTC more affordable to a larger number of international undergraduates by bridging the gap between resident and non-resident tuition and b) increase the quality of applicants. Next fall, the university will implement a new non-resident tuition structure where all non-resident (domestic and international) students will pay resident tuition plus $2,000 per semester. The resident tuition and fees for 2007-08 are $9,885. Coupled with the existing Global Excellence Scholarships (which will be offered at $2,000 or $4,000 per year), it is anticipated that the new tuition policy will attract many more outstanding international students. The estimated non-discounted tuition and fees for international students at UMTC in 2008-09 is $23,458. The new non-resident tuition policy for next fall is also in response to a decade long decline in the demographics of college-age students in many states of the upper Midwest.
Summary
Starting with few resources and a quickly declining number of international undergraduates, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities has established a recruitment program that is starting to show results. The number of new international freshmen has doubled over the past year, and the university looks forward to the day when internationals make up 5 percent of the undergraduate student body and we reach our goal.
C. Eugene Allen is Distinguished Teaching Professor & Former Associate Vice President for International Programs at the University of Minnesota.
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